MERCIFUL HEARTS ARE BLESSED

“He is ever MERCIFUL, and lends; and his descendants are BLESSED” – Psalm 37:26

MERCIFUL HEARTS are BLESSED: “He is ever MERCIFUL, and lends; and his descendants are BLESSED” (Psa.37:26). here, David was testifying from his own experience. He noted that God cared for those who trusted in Him and walked in His righteousness, to the extent that they were not forsaken and their descendants were blessed. This was not a careless, off-the-cuff testimony. It flowed from many years of walking with God: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (v.25). God honours the merciful and cares even for their posterity!                                                                        

Seeing God’s Faithfulness to His people, David wanted the younger generations to also trust in Him, learning from his wisdom. He had learned from personal experience that in times of famine, God takes care of those who trust in Him. In times of scarcity, the righteous one not only receives God’s provision, but with a generous and merciful heart he shares with others in need. Being merciful is an extension of the generous, giving heart; and it is a key attribute of God: “For the Lord your God is a merciful God” (Dt.4:31a). He is “the Father of Mercies and God of all comfort” (2Cor.1:3). We’re redeemed by His Tender, Rich and Great Mercy (Lk.1:78; Eph.2:4; 1Pet.1:3).

The fifth beatitude speaks on Mercy: “BLESSED are the MERCIFUL, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt.5:7). The dynamics of Mercy follow the seed-harvest principle: “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (Lk.6:31). In Luke 6:27-36, our Lord Jesus urges us to pursue a lifestyle that demonstrates God’s mercy: “Therefore be merciful, just as you Father also is merciful” (Lk.6:36). The two verbs in this sentence preach a whole sermon on the gospel of Grace and Mercy. The first one is the command: “BE.” The second one is the motivation for the first; a simple statement of fact: “IS.” With the word “be,” Jesus expresses what He wants to have happen in us: that we would be or become merciful. We can act with mercy always, motivated by the reality that God, our Father IS ever merciful!

Psalm 41: 1-3 amplifies this Beatitude to infer that the Merciful shall be sustained by the Mercy of God: “BLESSED is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be BLESSED on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.” The Merciful refers to a compassionate, kind, helper of the helpless. The Mercy of God is the reward of such a person. Our Lord Jesus Christ modelled Mercy: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2Cor.8:9). To consider the helpless involves much more commitment and personal involvement than simply giving money; being merciful demands time and passion.

As we endeavour to love and care for others irrespective of who they are, we may sometimes be taken advantage of. Some folks may see our kindness as a weakness to be exploited. This should neither catch us off-guard nor deter us. Loving people often comes with a risk of being hurt or exploited. As we take it to God in prayer, His Spirit will shield us from injury. We can love people as God loves them – with their errors and flaws. We are merciful because God showed immense mercy on us. Who are we to not do the same for others? The nature of mercy is that it is undeserved yet given freely. That’s how God loves us and how we are to love others.

The more we cherish the Good News of God’s Mercy, the more we are spurred on to be merciful. Let’s keep “becoming” merciful, knowing that in this lifetime we will never find the limit of Mercy – neither how merciful we can possibly be, nor how merciful God has been to us!